SURVIVE Chronic Dehydration In Under 24 Hours?

Chronic dehydration can be a very serious health issue. Your body needs a regular intake of water to function properly. You need water and proper hydration more than you think.

Don’t believe me?

Consider the fact that you can live about 1 month without food but only a week without water.

Dehydration Meaning

Dehydration is the resulting condition that occurs when your body loses more water than it receives.

This creates an imbalance that disrupts the normal level of sugars and salt in your blood. If this is not resolved within a reasonable amount of time and / or keeps on happening on a regular basis then it can severely interfere with the way your body functions.

However, if you suffer from constant chronic dehydration then your body can’t perform all these functions effectively.

Dehydration Causes

Chronic dehydration can be caused by all sorts of issues. Here are some of the most common:

Diseases like diabetes can cause chronic dehydration because high blood glucose levels lead to less water in the body.

Being in a very hot climate / temperature.

Suffering from a fever where your body uses up a lot of your water reserves to regulate temperature.

Skin injuries like mouth sores, burns where water is lost through damaged skin.

Not drinking enough fluids when taking part in exercise.

Loss of water through things like vomiting, diarrhea and lots of urination due to something like an infection.

Not being able to access enough water e.g. the case of a disabled person, someone on a respirator or in a coma.

Unable to access safe clean drinking water.

Dehydration Symptoms In Adults

Your body will show you signs of needing to replenish its water supply when it loses between 1-2% of your body water weight.

The first and most obvious sign that you need to replenish lost liquids is you start to feel thirsty.

Mild to moderate dehydration can easily be treated but if it reaches extreme levels, it can be life-threatening and could require immediate emergency medical attention:

Mild to Moderate Dehydration

Severe or Chronic Dehydration

Minimal urine

Little or no urination, and any urine color that is darker than usual

Fatigue, tiredness or sleepiness

Unable to perform simple tasks and confusion

Headaches

Eyes are sunken

Dry skin

Dry skin does not bounce back when pinched

Sticky, dry mouth

Rapid breathing

Feeling dizzy or lightheaded

Low blood pressure

Constipation

Rapid heartbeat

Few or no tears when crying

No tears when crying

Cool, dry skin

Fever

Muscle cramps

Extreme thirst

Nausea

In serious cases, unconsciousness or delirium

Dehydration Treatment

The most effective treatment for dehydration is also the most obvious one. You need to replace fluids that have been lost.

However, do NOT drink too much water in one sitting. This can be very harmful and likely cause more problems then it solves.

Severe or Chronic Dehydration Treatment

If you start to recognise any of the symptoms for severe or chronic dehydration, immediately seek expert medical advice. Do this because the best type of action and right treatment will depend on age, the severity of dehydration and its cause.

Dehydration Recovery Time (Typically 24 Hours)

You should start feeling better after a few hours of sufficiently replacing the water your body has lost.

However, it could take up to a day and a half to completely replace the fluid that you lost. If you are recovering from the effects of severe or chronic dehydration by drinking enough fluids, rest and take it easy for 24 hours.

Dehydration Prevention

The best way to prevent dehydration is to know the early warning signs and drink enough fluids throughout the day.

Apart from listening to your body and monitoring your thirst levels, here are 2 ways to check for dehydration:

Check your urine. This has to be the oldest trick in the book but it works! Your urine is one of the best indicators of dehydration.

Lightish yellow, mostly clear urine could be a sign of good hydration.

Orange or dark yellow urine are “warning” colors and could be an indication of dehydration.

Body Dehydration Percentage

Urine Appearance

3% dehydrated

Noticeably yellow.

5% dehydrated

Chardonnay-colored.

Over 5% dehydrated

Darker yellow or orange in color.

Try this skin test. Another way to check your dehydration is to check how supple your skin is. To perform this test, use two fingers to pull up a roll of skin on the back of your hand. Pull up to 0.5cm high then let go. If you are properly hydrated, your skin will spring back to its original position within a few seconds. However, if your skin returns very slowly, you might be dehydrated.

Drink smaller amounts of water frequently over a longer period of time. This helps your body hydrate better because it is easier to absorb then a big amount of water intake that will mostly be flushed out through urine.

Tame your thirst by staying in a cool environment. This will mean you lose less water through things like sweat and any water you do drink goes further.

Do not conduct any physically demanding activities until your body is properly hydrated.

I'm a health author, science enthusiast and 100% certified geek. My passion is to help you take control of your health and well-being by understanding the true importance of good quality water and proper hydration.

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